Looking for the best third person shooter games?
I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I was playing the old school pong. Then I remember the conversation where my brother said he was buying an Xbox. The original Xbox. We also had a PC that my brother built. Then my brother built me my first PC. This started a lifelong passion for immersing myself in different worlds. Now I build my own PCs.
3rd person games have always had a special place in my heart. I love seeing my own character but I also love shooting people. So basically 3rd person shooters are one of my favourite genres.
So here are my top picks for 3rd person shooters to play this year.
15. The Division
This game came out on March 28th 2016 after 3 years of development. It was met with mixed reviews. Many people loved it, some hated it, most were pleasantly surprised. Coming from a studio that has a reputation for releasing broken games and creating cookie cutter missions. Cookie cutter missions being the same mission with a different name. Such as the trailing missions, or the grab this and deliver it there missions. This was a pleasant surprise.
Yes, The Division has its problems. Oh so many problems. However, the core of the game is good.
Yes, the enemies can be repetitive, the A.I. isn’t intelligent, and the side missions are cookie cutter and not very fun. But there is enough variety that I enjoy the game. I enjoy it very much in fact. And so have many other people.
The loot system is quite good, the combat can be very challenging, the campaign has a solid amount of variety, the Dark Zone is very fun, and most of all, it keeps bringing me back with offers of a new gun or piece of equipment.
You play as a Division agent. Part of a secret society of sleeper agents meant to ensure the continuity of government. So what do these agents do to make New York a safe place?
Kill everyone of course. But while killing everyone you also loot stores, upgrade your equipment and explore the Dark Zone, try to find a cure, reestablish power, and ensure civilians have a chance to survive.
What is the Dark Zone?
The Dark Zone is a lawless (more than usual) area of NYC that was an attempted quarantine zone. This is the area in the game that allows PvP as well as PvE. The Dark Zone is the experimental area of the game and the experiment was largely a success.
Other players are neutral until the moment that you (or they) decide not to be. This allows for some very interesting engagements where you can either work together or end each other.
There have been times where I worked with a group for half an hour without ever formally grouping up and then betrayed them for awesome loot. So satisfying. (I’m sure it says something about who I am as a person.)
If you are looking for a new 3rd person shooter experience then this one should be at the top of your list.
14. Mass Effect 3
The latest iteration of the Mass Effect series. I suggest you do not play this game as a standalone but rather play the whole series. Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 & 3. This allows you to get a full understanding of what these games are all about and give you the full experience.
But if you must play one game then I suggest you play Mass Effect 3. It walked the fine line between RPG and Action and brought the emotional series to an end.
The Reapers are tightening their grip on the neck of the galaxy and its up to one man and his ship to stop this abomination. So roll, melee, and headshot your way through endless hordes of Reapers.
The writing is exactly as you’d expect it. Stellar. They did a great job making the fight for your life feel more hopeless every day but still managed to keep that slight glimmer of hope. The ending was less than ideal however, but the subsequent DLC made it a little better.
You can choose to be a Soldier which boosts your guns, Sentinel which walks the line between tech and biotic abilities, Adept which is full biotic, Engineer who is a tech specialist, a Vanguard who is a biotic soldier, or an Infiltrator who is a tech soldier.
Each class dramatically changes the way you approach combat in the game. Some classes are up close and personal requiring adeptness with the shotgun whilst others require you to hang back and pick off enemies with a sniper rifle.
There is a large variety of enemies. This is one of the strengths of the Mass Effect series. They have kept things interesting the entire series. The enemies can be broken into 3 different categories. Mercs, Geth, Reapers, & Cerberus. The mercenaries are a mixture of species, each species having different abilities and fighting styles. The Geth tend to be the same but they have the snipers, typical shotgun guys etc. The Reapers are where things get really interesting in the 3rd game. They have introduced many new enemies with each requiring a different strategy to fight. Normally this is fine but when they combine 2 enemies that each need 2 very different strategies to fight. Things get interesting. Cerberus is the most disconcerting to fight because they are humans and believe they are doing the right thing. They could be your friends or brothers or sisters. But they make up for it in the atrocities they commit in the name of their goal.
This is a game that will require both fast reflexes and quick thinking about what abilities to use and how to approach a certain enemy.
13. Hitman (2016)
While this isn’t a shooter, I believe that is still deserves to be on this list. You can technically turn this game into a shooter if you want to.
The Hitman series are technically stealth games but the beauty of these games is all the options that they give you. The structure is so loose. All they do is give you an objective and then there are many different ways to complete the objective. You can do a mix of stealth and shooting. All stealth or go in guns blazing. Its your call.
When you first pick up this game it is going to take some getting used to the different options. IO Interactive did a wonderful job letting you put your personal touch on the missions. You can get inside using a cleaners outfit and then murder a chef and take his clothes to poison your targets drink. OR you can become a janitor and drop something heavy on him. OR you can shoot him with a sniper. OR. Well, you get the point.
However, just because there are many options doesn’t mean that the missions are easy. I suggest you do this game on a higher difficulty because it makes each kill so sweet and really gives you that feeling that you accomplished something.
Hitman has mixed reviews on Steam but has a 4/5 on Metacritic and I think is quite worth your time.
12. Warframe
Warframe is a fast paced 3rd person shooter. Although occasionally it doesn’t look like a shooter but a melee game instead. But there is a large shooting element.
You get to play as 3 different warframes that each have unique abilities and specialities. Basically a 3 class system. As usual each class determines your play style and determines how much of a shooter this game actually is. Each warframe is donned by an alien that then slices through dozens of cloned humans.
There are different kinds of missions and you get to choose which quests (missions) you do first and you get mods and all kinds of goodies from certain missions.
The entire game can be earned through playing except for cosmetics. As being a good Free to Play game it has consistently been in the top 20 games on Steam since its release and continues to be updated.
If you want to unlock all the weapons and abilities through playing only then you should expect to spend many hours cutting your way through enemies.
11. GTA V
How could we discuss 3rd person shooters without mentioning this game. It has been such a huge success that it continues to cost full price today 3 years after its release.
This game, while not strictly being a shooter, has enough shooting in it to satisfy even the most psychopathic players. GTA is the game series that parents are talking about when they say that video games are making us violent. This game allows you to do just about whatever you want but also has a compelling well put together story that allow you to follow a storyline if you want.
I do not need to tell about how good this game is. Just about every gamer knows that this is the game to have and the game to play. Rockstar has continually done a superb job with the Grand Theft Auto games and this is just another epic instalment in a famous series.
10. Splinter Cell: Blacklist
This game is also a stealth game but more of a shooter than Hitman. It allows you to choose one of 3 ways to play this game. Shoot, Stealth and kill, or Stealth and don’t kill. The last one giving you the most points but also being the most difficult.
Full of cool gadgets and well designed missions this game is full of never ending fun while you figure out different paths around maps and memorize the enemies’ paths so that you can walk around without them seeing you.
Splinter slightly divulged from its originals vision and went with a brighter more shootie experience in Blacklist (which has been the trend) however they found a way to keep the original stealth experience in the game as well.
You are rewarded for not killing people but rather finding a way around them. There is a solid story but nothing incredible. You play as Sam Fisher, an aging secret agent for an even more secret organization and it is your job to stop a terrorist attack on the United States.
There is a large amount of variety in the weapons and gadgets that you can equip. There is a crossbow bolt that can either kill people, or shock them, or use tear gas, or poison. Or you can throw a device that makes noise and distract them so you can sneak around them.
9. Max Payne 3
It has been nearly a decade since Max Payne 2. This game was developed solely by Rockstar games and uses the RAGE engine. It looks gorgeous and gritty.
Stylistically the game differs from the former 2 but I do not think that is a bad thing. Series must evolve or die and this iteration seems like a change in the right direction. The game has less the feel of a playable comic book.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Max Payne series these games are 3rd person shooter that offer a well written dark and gritty story. The first 2 iterations had single player only but Max Payne 3 offers multiplayer as well.
Max Payne 3 follows the main character, Max Payne (Bet you didn’t see that coming), through his job as a security guard protecting Rodrigo Branco. A rich Brazilian living in Sao Paulo Brazil. Max has left New York City in an attempt to escape his past. The gameplay is exhilarating and intense. It requires twitchy skill instead of positional planning.
The bullet time mechanic is really fun and so satisfying to dive towards a couple enemies and pull off perfect headshots.
Max Payne is a dark, gritty, diving, bullet time, slug fest of awesomeness.
8. Rise of the Tomb Raider
This is less a shooter and more a 3rd person puzzle/RPG/ openworld/stealth/shooter game.
The Tomb Raider franchise has been around for a very long time. I can’t remember a time where I was gaming that Tomb Raider wasn’t around. This franchise has been around for 20 years. That’s an eternity in the gaming industry.
So how does this reiteration match up against the legends of old?
Well the cinematic set pieces of this game are truly spectacular. Reminiscent of Uncharted or The Last of Us. However sometimes the cinematic scenes do not involve interaction. I hate having to button press. That was my biggest complaint of the rebooted Tomb Raider. The fact that there just a lot scenes were Lara felt like she was a victim of her environment and all you had to do was press a button.
In this game however those mistakes haven’t been completed eradicated but they have been largely minimalized. The opening sequence, while stunning and epic, is rather boring as a player. More movie and less game. Mercifully it is over soon and then you get to the large open areas that Tomb Raider is known for.
Within those large areas there are collectibles and hidden items. There are also optional challenge tombs. These are some of the most difficult and intricate challenges but they are consistently worth the challenge. They provide you with skills that will help you defeat your enemies. Once you get past the first part of the game you enter a more expansive area, one in which you can explore. The exploration is required so you can gather equipment and resources to craft items and gear. The crafting system is a new feature. For the first Lara can craft on the go. Another benefit of this exploration is the lore and information that you discover. You learn the intricacies of the storyline and of the people that used to inhabit these places.
All in all this game has some things that are negative, such as the occasional lack of interaction of certain scenes combined with the occasionally too easy areas. That being said this predecessor is exactly what a sequel should be. An evolution and improvement on what made the original successful without making it feel like a totally different game.
7. Dead Space 3
I hate horror movies and by extension I do not enjoy horror games. What I hate about them is the horror. I see no reason why I should purposely scare myself.
But Dead Space is such a compelling series it is most certainly worth the try, even if you do not enjoy the horror premise.
The original Dead Space was far more a horror game than this latest iteration. EA did what EA does best and tried to increase sales by working their “broadly appealing” magic. Sadly what they have yet to realize is that this actually makes the game less appealing as it no longer is unique.
That being said, Dead Space 3 is a wonderful game full of scary moments but not so full that the game needs to be put down. It is a bloody, gory, slaughterfest where you have to spend time exploring derelict ships while the Markers (the zombie like things) pop up (or down) and scare the sh*t out of you. You also spend a substantial amount of time on Tau Volantis, an ice planet that reminds me of an entire planet consisting of Canadian weather.
Dead Space 3 is by no means a perfect game but despite that you will immensely enjoy yourself cutting the limbs off of Necromorphs and co-ordinating with a co-op partner so you both can get scared together.
6. The Last of Us
The Last of Us is a cinematic video game. Meaning it feels more like a movie than a video game. That being said, It is quite well put together and breaks the conventional barriers of what a video game should be. It is certainly not a fun, uplifting game, but it is certainly a great one.
The game takes place in a bleak zombie world, it pulls ideas from every single post-apocalyptic theme you have ever seen or heard of. But it does this quite well and works very well. It’s a dramatic story.
But (there is always a but) I find the gameplay lacking. There is copious amounts of walking, slow walking, ladder climbing, and other rather boring aspects. However, it is still a good game. Just its not to be played to for constant action and twitchy shooting. Its about slow paced shooting, sneaking around, choosing who to attack first.
It’s a thinking game, not a reactionary game.
You scan the area, watch the way the guards move, pick your path and slowly, ever so slowly execute your plan.
Whether that plan is going in shooting or you are going to sneak around and strangle people.
My biggest problem with this game is that those parts where you get to plan an attack or where there are many different options. Those moments are too few.
5. Warhammer 40k: Space Marine
This is a game that brings out the little boy in you. You are a shoulder pad wearing golden massive warrior that wades through a sea of orks. This is a game that has perfected weight.
As Titus you swing a Thunder Hammer and smash ork after ork. You are an overpowered indestructible space marine that is charged with saving a world. Not THE world, just A world. But this game makes you feel like you really need to save this world. They do a good job of making you feel like a massive hulking behemoth of a man.
The story is a typical story, nothing crazy there.
This game is for you if you feel like you want to smash hundreds of orks and other enemies.
4. Mafia 3
This game is not yet released. It is set to come out in October.
Mafia 3 will follow Lincoln Clay as he sets out to get revenge and build up his own Mafia in New Orleans Louisiana. This game lets the player realize the dream of creating his own mafia empire.
As you build up your family the city is supposed to change as well. The developers have also stated that each area will allow multiple approaches. Meaning you can shoot your way through or sneak your way through. The game will also feature tire screeching heart pounding driving. The driving is actually going to be so intense that you will use it as a torture technique. You will force a guy into your car and then drive so erratically that he will tell you what you want to know.
I am very excited for this game.
3. Spec Ops The Line
This is one of the more interesting games about war out there. It is not a glorification of war. It instead explores the way war can destroy a soldiers mind and how the decisions that must be made can destroy the brotherhood that soldiers share.
The game has a very interesting storyline. In most games such as Mass Effect where each decision changes relationships and can alter the storyline, these decisions still have a net positive for you. Not in Spec Ops. Everything that happens to our hero batters and bruises him. You start the game off as a cliché shouting curt professional orders to your teammates and you end the game as a battered bruised solider questioning his sanity.
The games mechanics are lacking but that isn’t why you play this game. You play this game for the story. But there are strong parts of the game as well. The interaction with the environment is awesome. If you shoot the glass an enemy is stand they fall down, glass holding up sand can broken causing the sand to fall and crush your enemies. The AI is intelligent and aggressive. This is great but occasionally the controls will hang you out to dry. The melee button is the same as the vault button so occasionally you fist pump the air as opposed to jump over an object.
Overall this game is great, it is not quite revolutionary but I am a very big fan of the themes it discusses. It makes sure that you do not like war and it refuses to glorify. It is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise saturated area.
2. Alan Wake: American Nightmare
This is not a horror game. You will find it in the horror game section but it is not a horror game.
This is also not a standalone game. It feels almost like a DLC for Alan Wake but is actually its own game in the same universe with the same character. But it does not affect the main game at all.
The story is well written and you will experience an interesting intriguing story line while shooting darkness creatures repeatedly.
The most interesting mechanic in the game is the fact that you first have to “burn” away the darkness before you can shoot them. This effectively slows down firefights and forces you to concentrate on one enemy at a time.
1. Sniper Elite 4
Have you ever dreamed of blowing up Nazi’s testicles from 100s of yard away?
Me neither. Turns out this is a dream I should have had. The kill cam in Sniper Elite 4 is a returning fan favourite. Similar to Mortal Kombat, it allows you to see exactly what internal damage you are doing to the poor sap who gets in the way of you.
However, this game is a strong departure from previous Sniper Elite games. These games that seemed like more of a guilty pleasure have since turned into a full blown quite fleshed out stealth sniper game.
You are a soldier in Italy in World War 2. You have to sneak around the picturesque Italian cities and towns slaying enemies through a variety of means. You can snipe (the crowd favourite) but you can also use an Sub Machine Gun, ledge kills, and booby trap bodies.
This game has given you more freedom than ever before. Don’t worry though. Sniping is still very much a core aspect of this game. Even to enhance sniping they have now introducing Scope Zeroing. Finally.
